CU Buffs humbled by No. 9 KU

Jayhawks hand old rivals 29th consecutive loss in Lawrence

Colorado basketball has finally evolved into a winner with the move west to the Pac-12.

Not to the point where the Buffs were ready to play their way out of a historical Phog against former conference rival Kansas.

The No. 9 Jayhawks delivered an old-school beating with a 90-54 victory over CU on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU (7-1) scored 22 points off 12 turnovers in the first half, opened the second half with a deflating 9-0 run, and led by as many as 42 points while extending the Buffs' consecutive losing streak in Lawrence to 29 games.

CU head coach Tad Boyle, a former KU player, received a warm ovation from the crowd before the game.

There was nothing else to cheer about for the visitors.

"Let's make no mistake about it, the Colorado Buffaloes are not a good road team right now," Boyle said after CU fell to 0-2 in true road games this season a week after being upset by Wyoming in Laramie. "And that's my fault. I've got to figure out what we have to do to be a better road team."

Travis Releford capped the decisive spurt out of the halftime locker room with a dunk in transition to give the Rock Chalk crowd of 16,300 a 52-22 cushion to chant about.

The Jayhawks were ahead 76-34 when Bill Self started pulling starters with 9:31 remaining. The KU head coach's son, walk-on guard Tyler Self, scored the final basket of the game.

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From start to finish, this was a forgettable performance by CU and a regrettable final score for the Pac-12.

"That was the perfect example of how not to play a basketball game," Spencer Dinwiddie said after limping out of a depressing CU locker room. "Can we burn the tape? No. In a sense this will be good because we have a bad taste and we understand how bad we can be. I think it's important sometimes for a young team to understand that."

Ben McLemore scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half to stake the Jayhawks to a comfortable 43-22 lead at the intermission.

Josh Scott was 5-for-8 from the field with 11 points before the break. His teammates were 4-for-16 with 11 points.

The 6-11 freshman highlighted CU's otherwise pathetic performance with 19 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block.

"I don't even really care how I played. We got blown out," Scott said. "Yes, I thought I played well, but it doesn't matter. It was frustrating. We've got to get better."

The Buffs got off to a sloppy start with four turnovers in less than four minutes. KU seized a 13-3 lead after a steal and slam by McLemore.

Dinwiddie -- coming off a 29-point performance in the win over Colorado State and 24 points in the loss at Wyoming -- picked up his second foul with 16:16 remaining in the first half.

Even worse, the 6-6 sophomore guard twisted an ankle that he hobbled on for the rest of the game. Dinwiddie finished with four points on 1-for-4 shooting.

"I can play," Dinwiddie said on the severity of the injury.

CU trailed 27-8 after a backdoor layup by Elijah Johnson and a pair of free throws by McLemore.

Scott stopped the bleeding with a three-point play. A basket by Askia Booker cut the deficit to 29-18 moments later.

But the Jayhawks went on a 9-0 run to extend their cushion to 20 points (38-18) with 4:02 to go before the break.

"We're not as bad as we played. That's what is most disappointing. I'm most disappointed in just our competitiveness," Boyle said after falling to 0-4 against his alma mater. "It's not like they wanted to just roll over and die. Kansas came out and just took our heart, and we didn't do anything about it, which is disappointing."

Booker scored 15 points and Andre Roberson grabbed 11 rebounds, but most of those statistics were put on the stat sheet during garbage time.

The Buffs (7-2) will have another opportunity to pick up their first true road win of the year on Wednesday at Fresno State.

"We're a pretty good home team. Obviously, on neutral courts we can compete," said Boyle, whose team is 4-0 at the Coors Events Center and won the Charleston Classic. "But in other people's buildings, we're not very good."

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